Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. My tastes are very old-fashioned and traditional. I still love the old C9 outdoor lights on an evergreen tree and I have decorated one in my front yard every year since we bought our first house in 1975. Our first indoor tree was scotch pine. We eventually went to white pine, and then discovered Frasier Fir which became our favorite, still with the old colored bulbs. The wonderful fragrance of the Frasier Fir just added to the festive atmosphere.
For the past dozen years or so, we have been empty nesters. Christmases weren’t quite the same although I kept up with the decorations each year. In 2020, my wife and I both turned seventy years old. For the first time ever, we opted to purchase an artificial Christmas tree. Oh, it was nice with pre-lit LED lights that would change color with the touch of a remote control, but some of the magic was gone. My wife and my son were both organists at Catholic Churches some 600 miles apart, making it impossible for us to get together on Christmas when they both had obligations. That fact somewhat dampened my Christmas spirit, making the artificial tree a little more tolerable.
Last August, our quiet retired lifestyle took a sudden turn. Circumstances at the parish where my son was Liturgy and Music director, forced them to cut his position back from full time to part time. His wife and my four grandchildren had always hoped to move closer to Indiana where both families originated, and they took this as an opportunity to make the move. With no immediate prospects for employment, the family of six moved in with us. For the first time since our own children were small, we are going to have four youngsters ranging in age from four to ten in our home at Christmas. This Christmas would be special.
We all cling to those Christmas memories from our childhood in the hopes of recreating them each year. Only in December can we turn on contemporary radio and hear Gene Autry, Burl Ives, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, and Bing Crosby. Someday our grandchildren will grow up and look back on Christmases when they listened to Mariah Carey or Justin Bieber. Well, maybe not, but you get the idea. Anyway, I wanted to make this Christmas like those I remember from my childhood.
I knew immediately the artificial Christmas tree was staying in the attic this year. I wanted my grandchildren to experience going to the Christmas tree farm and picking out the perfect tree. We did it last weekend. Although we elected not to cut the tree ourselves, we did find a beautiful Frasier Fir that is now standing in our living room arrayed in old-fashioned colored lights and ornaments. The children hung their stockings on the fireplace mantle where Saint Nicholas generously filled them on December 6th. Our formerly quiet abode is now filled with laughter, badly sung Christmas carols, and the aroma of Christmas baking.
My mother-in-law always made fruitcake every Christmas season, not the hard kind nobody likes, but a tasty juicy cake like no other. She developed a reputation for her fruitcake to the point where friends and acquaintances would ask her to make it for them each year. Since her passing several years ago, we have missed the annual treat. This year, my daughter-in-law decided to try bringing it back. We had a copy of the recipe, and I must admit, it turned out just as I remembered it. Perhaps a new generation will carry on grandma’s fruitcake tradition.
My six-year-old granddaughter was in a Christmas dance recital with her ballet class last Sunday afternoon. We sat through two and half hours of watching somebody else’s kids dance in order to see my granddaughter perform for two and a half minutes. Her other grandfather drove two hours one way for the same experience so I shouldn’t complain!
The presents are now piling up around the tree and the anticipation is bursting among all four of the grandchildren. It brings back memories, not only of raising my kids, but even my own childhood when I wanted so badly to open at least one gift early. My parents would never allow it and I won’t either. I want to enjoy this Christmas season to the fullest. At my age, there won’t be many more. It is the most wonderful time of the year.
Amidst all the festivities, let us not forget whose birthday we are celebrating. I'm hoping to get the older grandchildren to come with us to Midnight Mass. We will see how it goes! Wishing everyone a very Blessed Christmas and a Joyful Healthy New Year!
